Storage cabinet



Feb. 27, 1962 Filed June 1?, 1957 T. T. HAAG 3,023,068

STORAGE CABINET 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR. Tkeojare 7'.

Feb. 27, 1962 T. T. HAAG 3, 8

STORAGEYCABINET Filed June 17, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 75 j XZ 75 INVENTOR. 7Zw7are 7. #44 4.

Ta FIVE/6.

nite rates This invention relates to storage cabinets and particularly to a storage cabinet of the utility type which is of unique construction.

The storage cabinet of the present invention is comprised of two side panels, a top and bottom panel, a front panel and two swinging doors, all of which after being shipped knocked-down can be quickly and easily assembled with the use of only ten bolts. The swinging doors have a smooth swinging action and are of double wall construction with one being of greater width than the other and formed along the edge to give the appearance of a center post when the doors are closed. From a series of shelves, coat hanging rods, divider partitions, and a series of half shelves, one may select various interiors for the cabinet which are releasably supported therein.

Such components can be assembled in a matter of a few minutes since the major portion of the assembly is accomplished by interlocking flanges. The assembled cabinet presents a smooth interior with no projecting lugs, bolt heads, or the like, and with no bolt heads visible from the exterior. Further, with such an arrangement, the cabinet cannot be disassembled from the outside when the doors are locked.

Therefore, it is an object of the invention to provide a cabinet which is easy to assemble, inexpensive to manufacture, and rigid in construction.

It is another object of the inventionto provide a cabinet having the meeting edges of the doors of double wall thickness for greater strength and one of which is so constructed as to have the appearance of a center post on which the door handle is mounted.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a cabinet which can be readily arranged as a storage cabinet, a wardrobe cabinet, or a combination cabinet.

Other objects and features of novelty of the invention will be specifically pointed out or will become apparent when referring, for a better understanding of the invention, to the following description taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, wherein:

FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of the exterior of the cabinet of the present invention with the doors closed;

FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the cabinet illustrated in FIG. 1 with the doors open;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, broken sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 1, taken along the line 33 thereof;

FIG. 4 is an enlarged sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 1, taken along the line 4-4 thereof;

FIG. 5 is a broken sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 4, taken along the line 55 thereof;

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the central portion of the door showing the locking handle as viewed from the direction of the arrow 6 of FIG. 1;

FIG. 7 is a sectional view of the structure illustrated in FIG. 6, taken along the line 7 7 thereof;

3,823,86 Patented Feb. 27, 1962 left-hand side panel 4, a top panel 6, a bottom shelf 8, a front frame 10, a back panel 11 and two swinging doors 12 and 13. Suitable holes 14 are provided along both sides of the back panel 11 and corresponding holes 15 along the leading edges of the left-and-right-hand side panels 2 and 4. The sides of the frame 19 which contact the leading edges of the side panels 2 and 4 have holes which register with the holes in side panels 2 and 4. A shelf 16 is positioned in the cabinet and a divider partition 18 is secured by screws to the mid-point of the shelf 16 and the bottom panel 8. The divider partition 18 has a series of holes 20 along both edges thereof adapted to receive suitable lugs on half shelves 22 to hold them in position. A coat hanger 24 is secured to the divider partion 18 and the left-hand side panel 4 by a pair of brackets 26, and a suitable lock 28 is provided for locking th doors.

Referring to FIG. 3, both sides of the back panel 11 are bent to form flanges 30 while the left-and-right-hand side panels 2 and 4 have flanges 32 and 34 which fit over the flanges 30. The other edges of the side panels 2 and 4 are bent to form flanges 36 and 38 and have a series of holes 15 therein for supporting the shelves. The front frame 10 abuts against the flanges of the side panels '2 and 4 and has holes 40 therein which register with the holes 15 in the side panels 2 and 4. The frame 10 is fixed to the side panels 2 and 4 by suitable bolts passing through some of the registered holes.

Each half shelf 22 and each whole shelf 16 has two stationary brackets 42 fixed to the underside thereof to engage the holes 14 along the sides of the back panel 11 and, in the case of the half shelves 22, to engage the holes 20 longitudinally spaced on a flange 44 of the divider partition 18. Pivot brackets 46 are disposed on the underside of the half shelves 22 and the shelf 16 to engage the holes 15 and 40 and also holes 21 in the flange 45 of the divider partition 18.

The doors 12 and 13 are pivotally secured to the frame 10 by the hinges 50 which are welded or otherwise secured to the flange 52 of the door and flange 53 of the frame 10. The inner side of the door 12 has a flange 54 with a longitudinal reinforcing member 56 secured thereto. The door 13 is wider than the door 12 and has a longitudinal recess 58 therein which serves the dual function of reinforcing the door and giving the appearance of a center pillar 120 when the doors are closed, as illustrated in FIG. 1. The inner side of the door 13 has a flange 60 and a longitudinal reinforcing member 62 secured thereto. A flanged channel strip 66 is secured at the middle of each of the doors 12 and 13 for reinforcing purposes.

Referringto FIG. 4, ears 70 are fixed to the side panels 2 and 4 and the back panel 11 so as to engageflanges 72 of the bottom panel 8. The front flange 74 of the bottom panel 8 fits over flange 76. Thus, the bottom panel 8 serves the additional function of interlocking the panels 2, 4, 11 and the frame 10. The flanges 74 and 76 may be secured to one another by suitable bolts or the like (not shown) to prevent the bottom .panel 8 from dislodging upwardly. Bars 78 are secured to the top panel 6 with their open portions facing outwardly to engage the upper flanges 80 of the side panels 2 and 4.

Referring to FIG. 8, each pivot bracket 46 is comprised of an angle 82 secured to the underside of the shelf 16 or a half shelf 22 whichever the case may be. The upper flange of the angle 82 has a notch 84 and a bent portion 86 which pivotally supports a lug 88 for engaging the holes 14 in the cabinet to support the shelves. The shelf 16 has a suitable notch 90 to permit the lug 88 to project beyond the shelf when disposed in horizontal supporting position. This combination of a flat hook and rectangular pivot plate provides a stronger unit without increasing its cost, and permits the shelf to be removed as illustrated in broken lines in FIG. 4.

Referring toFlG. 9, the stationary bracket 42 is comprised of an angle element 92 secured to the underside of the shelf 16 having a suitable lug 94 protruding through a notch 96 in the side of the shelf 16. A corresponding lug 95 is provided on the other side of the stationary bracket 42 so that it may be used on either side or end of a shelf.

Referring to FIG. 5, another view of the ears 7t supporting the bottom panel 8 is shown. In addition, a better view of one of the ears 78 engaging the upper flange of the side panel 4 is shown. The brackets 26 are secured to the shelf 16 by suitable bolts 184 and have projecting tabs 182 for supporting the ends of the tubular coat rod 24. The bottom portions of the brackets 26 are formed into hooks 104 on which objects may be hung.

Referring to FIGS. 6 and 7, the arm 64 of the lock 28 is clearly shown extending through the registering slots 108 in the abutting portion of the members 54, 56, 60 and 62. Reciprocal rods 109 are pivoted to the disc 111 of the arm 64 to be extended or retracted when the handle 186 is turned. The ends of the rods enter slots at the top and bottom of the frame 10 and securely lock both doors in closed position. An opening 110 in the member 62 is provided for permitting access to the lock 28 and is covered by a removable plate 112 which is secured thereover by suitable bolts 113.

To assemble the'cabinet of the present invention, the back panel 11 is laid on the floor inside-up and the top panel 6 is hooked-under the top flange 116 of the back panel 11 (shown in FIG. 4) and held in a vertical position. The side panels 2 and 4 are then slipped under the side flanges 30 of the back panel 11 and raised to a vertical position. The top flanges 80 of both side panels are fitted securely over the top panel 6 and engage the ears 78. Suitable screws are inserted at the top rear corner of the assembly. The front frame 10 is then placed in position and secured with a bolt on each side thereof passing through the holes 40 in the frame 10 and the registering holes in the flanges of the side panels 2 and 4 adjacent the frame at a point slightly below the center of the cabinet.

The cabinet is then upended and six more bolts are added to secure the frame it to the flanges of the side panels 2 and 4. Each pair of the aforesaid bolts should be placed at the same level on each side to minimize the blocking of too many shelf positions. The bolts may be inserted from within by a person standing inside the cabinet and one pair may be located at the base in the last hole on each side, one pair near the top, and one pair intermediate the top and middle bolts. A total of eight bolts are sufficient to secure the frame 10 to the side panels 2 and 4.

The bottom panel 8 may then be dropped into position by overlapping the flange 74 over the flange 76 of the frame 10, being careful to engage the flanges 72 within the cars 78 at the sides and back of the cabinet. Two locking studs (not shown) may then be inserted to secure the flange 74 to the flange 76. The interior components, such as shelves, divider and coat rod may then be installed according to the cabinet style desired.

The manner of inserting the shelves 16 is most clearly illustrated in FIG. 4. The lugs 94' of the stationary bracket 42 are inserted through the holes 14 in. the back panel 11 with the shelf 16 in the position shown in broken lines. As each shelf 16 is lowered into position, the lugs 88 are inserted through the holes 15 disposed in the front flanges of the side panels 2 and 4 and the registering holes 40 in the flanges of the frame 10 so that the shelf 16 will reach the final position shown in FIG. 1 with the lugs 88 disposed in a horizontal shelf supporting position.

It will be noted that the shelves have no removable parts which can get lost or mislaid and can be very quickly inserted into the cabinet without the aid of any tools. To complete the assembly of the cabinet, the doors 12 and 13 are mounted to the frame 18 by the hinges 50. The special design of the meeting edges of the doors 12 and 13 as shown in FIG. '3, not only provides added strength at a minimum of cost but also provides the appearance of a center pillar when the doors are closed.

The flanged construction of the cabinet panels together with the ears 70 and 78 enables the cabinet to be assembled rapidly in an interlocking manner with only ten bolts required. In addition, the enclosures formed by the flanges 32 and the frame 10 conceal the protruding lugs from view, so that no lug ends, screw heads or other projections are visible preventing the cabinet from being disassembled when the doors are locked.

What is claimed is:

1. A sheet metal storage cabinet having two doors, said doors being of unequal Width and pivotally connected to said cabinet by hinges along their side edges, the door of less width having an inwardly offset lip, the door of greater Width having a portion substantially equal in width to the door of less width and a portion in extension thereof which is formed of sheet metal and engageable with the inwardly offset lip and providing a hollow pillarlike portion at the center of the cabinet, a latching mechanism within the pillarlike portion, and an operating handle on said mechanism located on the front of said pillarlike portion.

2. A sheet metal storage cabinet having two doors, said doors being of unequal width and pivotally connected to said cabinet by hinges along their side edges, the door of less Width having an inwardly offset lip, the door of greater Width having a portion substantially equal in Width to the door of less width and a portion in extension thereof providing a pillarlike portion at the center of the cabinet between the door of less width and the door portion of a width equal thereto, flanges on the meeting edges of said doors, angle elements secured to the flanges to form box section constructions, and locking means within the box section construction on the door of greater width.

3. A cabinet having top, bottom, back and side panels, a front frame of rectangular shape secured to said panels, a pair of sheet metal doors of unequal width pivoted to the side portions of said frame, a pillarlike formation of box section construction at the meeting edge of one of said doors and disposed centrally with relation to both of the doors when the doors are closed, with the remaining portion of said one door being substantially equal in width to the width of said other door, and a latching mechanism disposed within the box section pillarlike formation, with an operating handle disposed on the outer face thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 376,947 De Vry -.Jan. 24, 1888 1,677,278 Foehrenbach July 17, 1928 1,716,207 Canto June 4, 1929 1,806,610 Christensen May 26, 1931 1,869,274 Phillips July 26, 1932 1,944,394 Bales Jan. 23, 1934 2,424,217 Bales July 22 1947 2,591,172 Lundine Apr. 1, 1952 2,684,884 Devery July 27, 1954 2,773,729 Derman Dec. 11, 1956 2,791,479 Iasin May 7, 1957 FOREIGN PATENTS 827,250 Germany Aug. 10, 1952 

